Water Ghosts Hardback - 2009

'Artfully woven, exquisitely modulated,walking a master's line between ancientChinese myth and the grit of immigrant lifein the Sacramento Delta, Locke 1928 tellsthe unforgettable story of a town broughtto its knees by loneliness and longing.Complicated, compassionate, haunting,Shawna Yang Ryan's novel feels more liketapestry than words on paper, her prose lesslike sentences, and more like song.'
Pam Houston, author ofCowboys Are My Weakness

'Shawna Ryan's Locke 1928 is a multilayeredmarvel of a book. The prose is a delight, thecharacters fascinating, the story richly imaginedand heart-rending. This first novel ofgrace and substance presages a notable literarycareer for Shawna Yang Ryan.'
John Lescroart, author of Betrayal

'Locke 1928 is an auspicious debut that notonly entertains, but opens our eyes to a rich,poignant piece of Chinese-Americanhistory.'
Gail Tsukiyama, author ofDreaming Water

Advance 'Artfully woven, exquisitely modulated, walking a master's line between ancient Chinese myth and the grit of immigrant life in the Sacramento Delta, Locke 1928 tells the unforgettable story of a town brought to its knees by loneliness and longing. Complicated, compassionate, haunting, Shawna Ryan's novel feels more like tapestry than words on paper, her prose less like sentences, and more like song.'
Pam Houston, author of Cowboys Are My Weakness

'Shawna Ryan's Locke 1928 is a multi-layered marvel of a book. The prose is a delight, the characters fascinating, the story richly imagined and heart-rending. This first novel of grace and substance presages a notable literary career for Shawna Ryan.'
John Lescroart, author of The Hunt Club

'Locke 1928 is an auspicious debut that not only entertains, but opens our eyes to a rich, poignant piece of Chinese-American history.'
Gail Tsukiyama, author of Dreaming Water

'A beautiful debut, Locke 1928 opens up a page in history that sometimes is forgotten by both cultures that once coexisted in Locke, a Sacramento Chinese farming town. By mapping out the familiar and the strange territories of human passion and retelling the old myths, Shawna Yang Ryan tells a story that, in the end, is about how America was truly made.'
Yiyun Li, author of A Thousand Years of Good Prayers

'This is potent, deeply felt, magical writing. Don't miss this book.'
Gary Snyder, Pulitzer Prize winning poet, author of Mountains and Rivers Without End

'Shawna Yang Ryan writes with even frightening intimacy about: preachers, bootleggers, prostitutes, ghosts, and an utterly convincing soothsaying madame. Every word she writes about their storied, haunted, fogbanked Sacramento River town rings absolutely true. Savor Locke 1928, this brilliant incarnation of the California novel, and you'll be amply, richly rewarded. Just to read it will ruin you for Steinbeck.'
John Beckman, author of The Winter Zoo